Reduce cost of internet access to encourage virtual learning - University president urges govt

The President of Laweh Open University, Prof. Mrs Goski Alabi, has appealed to the government to employ strategies that will help reduce the cost of internet accessibility to help promote virtual learning among schools in the country.

She said due to the COVID-19 pandemic which had resulted in the closure of schools, it had become necessary for schools to adopt advanced methods such as virtual learning to ensure the situation didn’t have an adverse impact on the educational system of the country.

Reduce cost of internet
Prof. Mrs Alabi noted that such advanced methods demanded internet availability, accessibility and reliability and as a result, “the government needs to liaise with internet service providers to ensure the cost of internet access is reduced”.

The president of the university was speaking at a press conference held in Accra recently by the Laweh Open University College to outdoor its online private leadership school.

Dubbed LAWIS, the programme is a career-driven platform developed to help equip students to be purpose-driven, creative, entrepreneurial and intellectually stimulated in a way that pushes the boundaries of traditional education.

“Internet access is very expensive for education, and until the government intervenes to work with the service providers to ensure that it is affordable, it will be very difficult for a lot of people to get access, particularly the rural folks,” Prof. Alabi stated.

The platform
On the online platform, Prof. Alabi said the platform was to motivate students who wanted to learn at a school that fitted their individual learning style.

She said under the programme, students who had completed junior high school would undertake 21 courses within the space of three years to get an American High School Diploma.

Also for students who had completed senior high school, Prof. Alabi said they would undertake five courses to attain such a diploma certificate.

She said although the platform offered a rigorous technologically driven and career-preparatory American High School programme based on accredited curriculum, the school also required resources to support West African Examination Council ‘A’-Level curriculum.

In addition, she said all classes were taught through online and supplements-blended instruction, utilising fully American-certified teachers.  

Global classroom
“Students of this novel method of instruction engage with their classmates both online and offline through interactive projects based on learning, global leadership track, clubs, study abroad and other opportunities.

“Students are part of a global classroom of same courses at a benchmark against over 40,000 students daily from America and across the world,” Prof. Alabi explained.

She noted that each student in such a learning environment would acquire the requisite competences, skills and experiences to prepare them to thrive in the chosen future career through their own learning style and pace.